


The Dancer and the Warrior

by KaylieMorgan



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Ballet, F/M, Fluff, Googly-eyes, Undefined Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:42:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29118447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaylieMorgan/pseuds/KaylieMorgan
Summary: A collection of times when Jasmin (OC) and the Mandalorian interacted while living on the Crest with the kid.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 4





	1. Intro

The first time she saw the Mandalorian was the time she watched a young foal kick his ass. Repeatedly. Jasmin had stayed hidden, afraid of what might happen if she were seen by anyone other than Kuiil. 

The second time she saw the Mandalorian, Jasmin was a little less trepidatious. He had taken Lily, her favorite Blurrg, and left Kuill. While he was out, she inquired about the helmeted being. Kuiil assured her that even though he couldn’t take the helmet off, he was just a man, and ‘one to be trusted.’ They figured he was not after her, so she took a chance. When the Mandalorian returned, Jasmin made her existence known. She took Lily’s reins from him as soon as he dismounted the Blurrg. He only tilted his helmet at her but she knew that if Kuiil had not been so nearby, his blaster would have been trained on her in milliseconds.

“Forgive her haste, Lily is her favorite.” Kuiil had said.

Jasmin had joined them for tea and learned more about the Mandalorian’s current quest. It broke her heart to think that he was spending the time he had with his son, searching for his home. She couldn’t even imagine what that would be like.

“You know, my offer still stands. I could always use a crew member of your ability.” The Mandalorian said to Kuill. “It seems you have someone who can take care of this place in your absence now.” He referred to her.

Kuiil shook his head. “I propose an alternative, but it is not my decision.” She leaned in, curious about where Kuiil was going with this. “Take the girl.”

Jasmin sat back with a look of astonishment and betrayal on her face. He continued, “She may be useless with a tool, but she has many other skills that may be of importance.”

The deafening silence went unnoticed by Jasmin as her head swirled with thoughts. What would it be like to live on that small ship? Would she be paid? Is there any level of privacy? She didn’t know this person at all. Why would Kuiil even suggest such a thing?

Kuiil broke the silence, “Discuss.” He said, leaving the small room. 

The Mandalorian looked at her, silently asking if she was interested.

“I need a minute.” Were the first words she ever said to him.

*

That night, the Mandalorian stayed in his ship, though he didn’t leave the planet. There were more repairs to be done and Jasmin hadn’t left her room to give him an answer. She had sat on the edge of her cot for a while and filtered through her thoughts. She didn’t know much about ships, but Kuiil had mentioned something about the Razor Crest being off the grid. Maybe on the ship she would be safe. Not to mention, she would be with a beskar clad Mandalorian. No one messes with those. 

By the next morning, she had made a decision. She would join the crew of the Razor Crest.


	2. Ballerina

The last few months on the Razor Crest were quiet, literally. Neither Jasmin nor the Mandalorian, or Mando as she had started to refer to him as, liked to talk. They didn’t have much need for communication anyway. He had given her the cot in the hold and took the storage room behind the cockpit in order to minimize the risk of her walking in on him helmetless. She usually stuck to staying in the hold. Or, when they were traveling, she would sit in the copilot seat with the kid.

Today, the kid and his dad were in the cockpit spending quality time before their next stop. Jasmin, alone in the hold, decided to dance. Something she normally only did while Mando was off ship. 

Using a cargo net as a barre, she started her warm ups before sitting on the ground and stretching. Taking advantage of the large space available, she did across the floor drills. Midway through one of her favorites, développé leaps, the sound of walking on the upper deck could be heard. Jasmin thought nothing of it until a large body blocked her intended path and she was forced to drop out of the air quickly to avoid running into it. She came to a stop inches from his chestplate.

She stepped back as he looked over her sweat covered body in confusion. Her long hair, usually down or partially tied up, was in a neat bun high on the back of her head, exposing her neck. She wore a tight, light colored tank top and dark leggings. If he had been able to take his eyes off of her, he would have noticed a discarded, light grey sweater on a crate that had been pushed into the side to create more space. 

“What are you doing?” He asked her. “Are you okay?” He was concerned, all he had heard from the cockpit was thumping on metal and occasional grunts like someone had gotten the wind knocked out of them.

“I'm dancing.” She said slowly but simply like it was obvious. A small part of her had hoped he would see her dance so that she could get the chance to show off, but another part of her was embarrassed. She was the crewmate of a warrior and here she was, doing what was probably the least threatening activity there was.  
“Dancing?” He said like it was a word he’d never heard before.

“Yeah,” she nodded along with her words. “Dancing. Have you ever heard of ballet?”

“No, what’s that?” She couldn’t believe it. But at the same time he didn't seem like the type to watch entertainment. Jasmin walked over to the crate that held her sweater and picked up a water bottle from the floor next to it. She took a swig before speaking. 

“It’s a form of dance, one of the most strict and disciplined styles, but in my opinion it's the most graceful.”

“That sounds…” He paused. Unable to find a word, he changed his response to a question. “When did you learn how to do that?”

She was surprised to hear him ask about something so personal when he hadn’t made much of an effort to get to know her at all so far. Not wanting to get into her past too much, she gave a simple response. “When I was a kid.” 

Her dismissive tone told him to back off of the subject, so he did. Her limited answer did make him wonder more though. Things like, why does she dance? Instead of asking anything else he turned and made his way back up the ladder, retreating into the cockpit once again.

*

Jasmin didn’t dance again while Mando was on the ship. She didn’t want him to ask more questions, even though she knew he wouldn't. A hidden past was something they had in common and respected about each other. 

The kid, though, was an audience she was happy to entertain. He watched with glee as she practiced her pirouette and piqué turns. Happy to have an audience, she spent a couple of weeks putting together a choreography to show the kid. 

The perfect day had arrived. The ship was set on a safe and beautiful planet and Mando had recently left to scout out the area. The weather was amazing. The sun shone, but wasn’t blazing hot and the wind was soft. Jasmin opened the side cargo door to let some natural light into the hold. After warming up, she set the kid on a crate to the side and slid her only skirt over her usual workout attire. On the last planet, she had found some dance shoes, similar to the traditional pink slippers professionals wore. She slid those over her previously bare feet and looked at the kid one more time before heading to the corner of the hold. 

Imagining music in her head, Jasmin performed the well rehearsed choreography she had made for the kid. It contained all the things she had noticed he liked the most. Jumps, turns, and leaps. The big and fast movements that were easy for his eyes to follow and entertaining enough to keep a kid engaged. He watched with appreciation and awe as she moved across the smooth floor of the crest. What she didn’t notice was the secondary audience member just outside the ship. 

She ended her performance with a curtsy before moving towards the crate. Pulling off her skirt and shoes, she grabbed the kid and a water bottle to head outside. There wasn’t much sun in hyperspace, so they got what they could whenever possible. As they stepped onto the ramp to leave, she noticed him. Mando was just coming up the ramp. She wondered if he had seen any of her dance but didn’t ask.  
Jasmin’s plans to take the kid outside were halted when he asked for his dad. Of course, he missed his father after being away for a couple hours. Unable to resist the cute grabby hands the kid was making, Mando took him from her arms.

“I was just going to take him out for some sun. Unless we need to leave?” She asked.

“No, I think it's safe here. Might be a good place to stay for a bit. I can bring him out to you in a minute.” He stated. The definitive manner in which he spoke stopped her from asking any questions she might have had, like why were they going to stay when he hadn’t even mentioned a bounty or a lead being here?

She nodded and continued outside to a small stream nearby. She knelt next to it and splashed some water onto her face to rinse off some of the sweat that had gathered during her mini performance. Turning to sit on the edge of the stream, she put her bare feet in the water. The warmth of the sun perfectly balanced out the cool of the liquid on her skin.

It was only a few minutes before the boys joined Jasmin on the riverside. Mando set the kid down next to her and sat himself an arms length away. Before she could acknowledge their arrival, Mando pulled a couple of rags out of his belt. Jasmin watched with curiosity as he dipped one in the water before ringing it out and setting it down. He reached down to his leg where it lay out in front of him and carefully removed the piece of beskar armor from his thigh. He held it in one hand while the other grabbed the rag from where it sat in the grass next to him. 

“I saw you,” Mando said, pulling Jasmin’s gaze from his hands to his helmet. Out of the corner of her eye, she continued to watch as he started cleaning the armor with the damp rag. When she didn’t respond he continued, “dancing. For the kid. It was,” he paused, “It was nice. Pretty, I mean.”

“Thank you,” Jasmin giggled at his lack of non-battle centered communicative skills. “I made that choreography for the kid.”

“Corey what?” His hand stilled on the armor.

“Choreography. It’s the order of how the dance is put together.”

“What do you mean you made it for the kid?”

“I noticed what he liked to watch the most when I would practice in front of him and put those together into one piece.”

With only a nod as a response, he continued cleaning the metal.   
“Can I help?” Jasmin asked. He looked at her.

“Help?” He repeated.

“With your armor.”

“Why would you want to clean someone else’s armor?” He asked instead of giving her an answer.

“Why not? It looks relaxing. Is it?”

“Decide for yourself.” He hands her the thigh piece and the rag before standing up.

“Where are you going?”

“To get another rag.”

“There is one right here.” She points to the one laying next to where he was just sitting.

“We need one to dry the pieces with.”

He walks back to the ship without waiting for a response.


	3. Googly eyes

It was the first time since joining the crew of the Razor Crest that Jasmin was being allowed to do the supply shopping. She had been before, but only with the Mandalorian by her side. This time the kid was staying on the ship with his dad and she was flying solo. It was exciting. Jasmin had saved up some money and planned to buy some things she needed in addition to what was on the usual list. 

By the time she got back to the ship, her back was sore from carrying the weight of supplies for three. Once she got up the ramp, she set the bags down on the floor of the hold, perhaps a little too loudly. Mando jumped down the ladder, alarmed by the sound. 

Sensing his alarm she spoke before he could ask if everything was alright. “I’m okay, it's just heavy.”

He looked at her and then picked up the bags she had rigged together to stay on her back with the appearance of using no effort. 

“Not all of us were born warriors, Mando. Normal people actually struggle with lifting heavy things.

“I wasn’t born a Mandalorian.” he said setting the bags on a crate for easier access and away from the door. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”

“You couldn’t have known, don’t worry about it.”

“No, I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“I was a foundling.” 

“You don’t have to explain.”

“It’s alright, you should know.” 

Jasmin didn't respond. She just listened as he told her his story of his family and how he was taken in. As he spoke, they sorted through everything she had brought back from the shop. She didn’t say a word until he was done.

“Thank you for telling me. I’m sorry that happened to you.”

“It was a long time ago.” Was all he said.

They finished putting everything away in silence as Jasmin processed Mando’s story. This was the most she had heard him talk at once and the most she had gotten to learn about him. She figured she would tell him a story about her own past later in return. 

“I got something for you.” Jasmin announced. He tilted his helmet at her in response. “Well, really it's more for me and the child’s entertainment at your expense. Go sit in the cockpit, I’ll be there in a second.”

He climbed the ladder and she waited until she could hear his steps on the top deck before grabbing a small package out of the bag she had thrown on her cot earlier. She made her way up the ladder and hid the package behind her back, out of Mando’s sight. 

“Hi kid!” She greeted the child. “You ready to see a surprise I bought? Okay, close your eyes.” Of course, he didn’t but she blocked his view of his dad anyway. “You too Mando. I trust you will.” 

“Okay, they’re closed.” He said. 

“I’m going to touch your helmet.” His eyes flew open and he stiffened at her words. “Only the front, I am not going to remove it.” She said it calmly and with emphasis on the ‘not.’ “I promise, I wouldn't try to, and even if I did, you would be too fast.” Her words reassured him. 

“Okay.” he closed his eyes again, though he was more alert in his other senses. 

Jasmin opened the package and pulled out two pieces from it. She peeled back a wax coated circle off of them and touched the adhesive to her skin a few times to lessen the strength of it. Double checking that the kid couldn’t see what she was doing, she pressed the sticky sides to the visor of Mando’s helmet, right over where she thought his eyes were. 

“Your eyes are still closed right?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t be alarmed when you open them, okay?”

“What did you do?” He muttered. 

“On three you can open them. One, two, three.” On three, she stepped out of the way so that the kid could see his dad. Noticing what she had done, he giggled and reached his arms out. 

Jasmin was pleased with her work. Somehow she had found googly eyes at the market and couldn’t resist the thought of putting them on the featureless helmet of the Mandalorian. Finally stepping back to look at the finished product, she laughed. If only everyone else could see this cold hearted and battle hardened warrior with googly eyes stuck to his helmet. The thought made Jasmin laugh harder.

Mando opened his eyes to see two dark circles blocking the visor right over his eyes. He was less than thrilled and didn’t even know what was on his helmet, but hearing the kid giggling and Jasmin laughing was enough to make him smile a little.


	4. Candy Spice

It was the second time since joining the crew of the Razor Crest that Jasmin was being allowed to do the supply shopping. This time, she didn’t have as much saved up to spend since she got everything she wanted last time. 

Strolling through the aisle between market stalls, she noticed a familiar display she hadn’t seen since she was a small kid. Unable to resist, she bought three of the red candies, one for each of the Razor Crest crew that was becoming more and more of a family every day. 

They had landed a lot closer and they didn’t need as much stuff so she was able to get back and put everything away by herself easily. She grabbed the candies before climbing the ladder to the cockpit where Mando sat with the kid in his lap. Jasmin sat in the copilot seat and Mando turned his chair to face her.

“How did it go?” He asked her.

“No problems at all.” She said. “I did get us something though.”

He tilted his helmet to the side slightly. Just because the three of them had gotten closer didn’t mean he talked much more than he used to. 

“Spicy candy.” She held up her hand, the jawbreaker shaped candies lined up between her thumb and finger. Jasmin unwrapped the first one and handed it to the kid. Who didn’t do anything with it until she had unwrapped the second and put it in her own mouth. She winced at the sharp flavor when the taste registered with her brain. The kid spit his out almost immediately before picking it up and trying again. 

Jasmin opened the third one and held it by the tips of her fingers. She reached out toward Mando and he leaned away from her slightly. “What are you doing?” His voice was quiet.

“Trust me?” it was half a question, half a demand. He nodded. Her hand continued it’s path towards Mando. She used the back of her hand to push down the fabric that covered his neck so that the candy wouldn’t touch it. Swiveling her wrist, she worked her fingers under his helmet. She kept her eyes on his visor, hoping to assure him she wasn’t trying to look. Jasmin felt when the candy reached his lips, they parted, allowing her to push it into his mouth. It fell onto his tongue and she pulled her hand back out carefully. The tips of her fingers brushed against his lips as they closed around the red candy and he shuddered. 

“Spicy, right?” She said when she had pulled back completely. 

“Not really.”

“Not really? Do you mandalorians have an insane spice tolerance or something?”

He chuckled softly. “No, when I was little my family would make spice heavy food.”

“I guess you haven’t lost that tolerance.”

“I guess not.”


End file.
